The film we watched in class this week, “This Film Is Not Yet Rated”, depicted the world behind the screen and how much goes in to receiving a rating. The MPAA is this highly secret group of individuals that decide what kind of rating a certain film deserves based upon each of their ideals. During the movie, Kirby Dick and a private investigator search for these individuals to find the truth behind the MPAA. They worked together to track the members of the MPAA down and discover what makes them so special. They find out that the members of this secret association are supposed to be “average” adult parents with children.

            To be honest, I never knew how difficult it was to receive an appropriate rating. I did not think a small and secret group of parents made the decision for all films. I find it disturbing that these parents have so much power. They only see things through one perspective. There are certain films that will show a powerful message but show it in a different way to get their point across. These parents will only see the negative effects of how powerful messages will be shown. I think it’s important for films to freely show real world problems and spread awareness of certain cruel things that are really happening. The MPAA will give a NC-17 rating purely for sex standards rather than violence or crude language. I do not believe sex should be under strict surveillance. The MPAA restricts film makers to create sex scenes that are ridiculously exaggerated to prove a point to the audience.

            The MPAA should not have the ability to disband an entire movie just for crude scenes that depict realistic situations that happen every day. The world has changed but the MPAA has not. They are still following false ideals. A film is supposed to present something that people have never seen before. The MPAA wants to present films based on their own false ideals that are reductant in this day of age. I find it strange how secretive the MPAA really is. They would only be this secretive if they also believed that their system is constructed on ideals that are wrong. They remain in secrecy to avoid the board members being interrupted by their decision-making from any outside influence. I think it construes their decision-making even more because this just means they are only being allowed to see through one perspective. They should be able to here other perspectives to form their own fair and honest opinion.

-Noah Soriano